Day Falana, others defied police in Lagos

MARTINS TUNDE-ADELEKE brings the story on how a forum organised by pro-democracy and rights activists in Lagos to discuss national challenges with a view to proffering solution was almost aborted by law enforcement agents.

THE mutually antagonistic relationship between government and the civil society occasioned by intolerance and high-handedness by the former re-echoed in Lagos last Monday. Venue was 46, Ibijoke Street, Oregun, where the symposium organised by the Coalition for Revolution (CORE), a working consultative assembly of activists and organisations in the country, to discuss the state of the nation was to hold.

CORE had sent out invitation to the symposium with Democracy, State Repression and the State of Insecurity in Nigeria as its thematic focus. Invited to participate in the discourse were frontline pro-democracy activists, who played very prominent roles in the struggle against military dictatorship and eventual restoration of democracy in the country. They included the Nobel Laureate and literary icon, Professor Wole Soyinka; Professor Omotoye Olorode; Comrade Femi Aborisade; Affiong L. Affiong; Comrade Gbenga Komolafe and human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), who doubled as the convener.

The focus of the discourse, according to the organisers, was the draconian development and detention of scores of activists in the cells of the Directorate of State Security (DSS), a Federal Government-owned security outfit.  The event was apparently aimed at pressing for the release of Omoyele Sowore and scores other activists arrested and detained in connection with the August 5 RevoutionNow protest across the country. Sowore, the arrowhead of the protest, was the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the last February general election.

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Apparently jolted by the plan of the activists at a time the country was beset with crises of insecurity and heightening tension arising from harsh socio-economic conditions staring the citizenry in the face, the government probably thought the best option available to it was to abort the discourse. And so, in the early hours of the day of the symposium, terror was unleashed on members, guests of CORE and residents of the street where the event was billed to take place.

Hilux vans packed full with securitymen were all over the place. Commercial buses and commuters were driven off the Oluyole Bus-Stop of the event venue as police vans had virtually taken over the bus-stop. Right from the entrance and down the slope of the near one kilometre long street, the story was not different as stern looking policemen parked their vans at close distances. It was an unusual morning for the bewildered residents, who woke up to strange developments on their street. They gathered in small groups along the street watching with amazement, the unfolding drama. While those who could summon enough courage came out of their houses, others remained indoors, peeping through the windows; yet a few went up their terraces to capture what was going on a hitherto noted for serenity.

The Logos Christian Centre venue of the event was already invaded and sealed off by the police while innocent people were harassed and arrested. Olaseni Ajayi, a co-convener of CORE, in a statement lamented, “The owner of the event Centre was denied access to his property while the whereabouts of his staff remained unknown while innocent bystanders are being harassed and detained in a Gestapo manner.”

Venerable (Comrade) Funsho Awe, a member of the National Conscience Party (NCP) and the owner of the Logos Christian Centre captured it more accurately: “As early as 8:00am, I witnessed a scenario I last experienced during the reigns of military juntas in our polity. My little place, Logos Christian Centre, 46, Ibijoke Street, Off Kudirat Abiola Way, Oluyole Bus-Stop, Oregun, Ikeja was completely militarised by armed policemen and other security agencies. The entire street and bus-stop were taken over by them, thereby preventing people from entering their homes or getting out, and subjecting the entire neighborhood and people to police terrorism. I tried entering my own premises and was prevented and the people inside were locked in. People who worked in the neighborhood were arrested.”

For hours, the security cordoned off the venue until Mr Falana arrived the scene. It took the intervention of the human rights lawyer before securitymen allowed the symposium to hold. Even then, a combined team of the police and the Department of State Service (DSS) still had to practically screen participants beforethey were allowed into the venue of the event. Only participants with the means of identification were allowed in. The security agents stayed back to guard the venue till the end of the programme.

Venerable Awe noted that the participants were undaunted as they held the event notwithstanding the sige by the law enforcement agents. “After holding us and the entire area to ransom for four hours, the intervention of Barrister Femi Falana brought some sanity. We had a very successful symposium with full military presence, both inside and outside the venue and all arrested individuals were later released,” he said.  In a reaction, Chairman, Centre for Free Speech, Comrade Richard Akinnola, expressed disgust by government’s handling of the matter. “I am morally hurt and embarrassed that a day would come that I have to compare a democratic government that I helped in bringing to power in 2015 with the draconian Babangida and Abacha juntas on a simple issue of right to peaceful assembly… Shame unto this government”, he said.

Declaring the symposium open, Falana expressed disappointment the attitude of the government to an issue that bordered on the rights of Nigerians to associate and express themselves freely, but vowed that dictatorship would not be allowed to rear its head again in the country.”When we were outside and were told the symposium will not hold, my mind went back to 30 years ago during the Babangida and then the Abacha junta when we could not meet. We defeated both dictators and I can assure you that any other dictator will not be allowed to rear its ugly head again,” he declared.

“The Buhari administration knows those who are breaching the peace of Nigeria – terrorists, armed robbers, herdsmen, coup plotters and others. Those who went on the street to protest in exercise of their rights to assembly and complain against injustice, corruption and maladministration in our country cannot be said to have breached the peace.”

Falana said there was nothing new in call for revolution in Nigeria as many leaders had done same at one time or the other, explaining that Nigerian leaders called for revolution during colonial rule without any of the agitators being charged for treason unlike what now obtained in the country.”When Nigeria was at this stage in the 40s, a group of young Nigerians, the Zikists, gathered at Glover Hall in Lagos. Their leader, Osita Agbonna, delivered a lecture titled ‘A Call for Revolution’ and those who shared the same thought with him were arrested and charged with sedition; that they were trying to embarrass the colonial regime. They were not charged with treason or treasonable felony,” Falana said.